From Barbara - "I've been asked why I paint what I paint. I think it is more a matter of what emerges than what I plan. My impulses are more metaphorical than realistic and I often mix various landscapes, interiors and still lives. I like to combine imagery from the past such as Italian frescoes and the ancient mosaics of Pompeii with contemporary objects and locations. Working this way allows a fluid play between objects and their surroundings. I hope to establish a dynamic balance between the aesthetic and the emotional in my paintings.

Summer Studio takes place in my studio in West Tisbury. It combines my actual studio space and the view out of the doors with a mosaic that has fish and shells that are found on the beaches and water on Martha’s Vineyard. I think of the painting as a kind of ode to Martha’s Vineyard." www.barbarakassel.com

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